Baby It's Cold Outside

Will and I had a great night last night - we went on a date - to Dinner and a Movie - it was so nice, especially not having to shuffle 3 children around - we just up and went!!! I had a great afternoon too, got a lot of cleaning and organizing done...

but I am soooooo excited to see these 3 little munchkins when I get home today - I had just enough time alone, to really appreciate a busy, bustling, toy-filled, laughter-filled house - and that it will be, tonight we will have 5 children and 8 adults spending the night!!!!!

I can't wait to be together with my family, my sisters (Katie and Lori), Mark and Matt, my parents and Carson and Mary Grace!!!!

I went on a long run this morning and it was COLD - but it was a great time of reflection and prayer - for all the MANY things I have to be thankful for - God has been so good to me in these 28 years of life.

Thanksgiving and a Quiet House

These little guys are not at home right now - I met my parents in Birmingham yesterday and dropped them off, to spend a day and a half with them while I work. I am a little sad - I do miss them, but I CAN'T WAIT to get home today and have 8 hours straight of doing whatever I want - I can clean my house and it won't look like a tornado has come through 30 minutes later!!! It will be short-lived b/c the house will be full of energy and excitement as they return Wednesday afternoon and then my sister and her husband and 2 children arrive Wed night and then 8 more adults come for the day Thrusday! I'm really looking forward to it all and I really do love keeping house (as long as it's not at the expense of my children) and I can guarantee that they are not missing me a bit - I called last night to check in and Emma Claire got on the phone, said "Hey Mommy", told me what she was doing and quickly said "gotta go!" WOW it feels good to be missed so. All kidding aside, I'm glad I have children who adjust well, to whatever circumstances they're in, and even more grateful for wonderful parents who love my children as much as I do.

They started off the visit with Thanksgiving dinner at my parents church - FBC in Trussville. I think my parents got in the far corner by themselves, so as not to disturb EVERYONE else. The children did okay - when Wilson was finally let out of his seat, he was MR. SOCIAL bug as usual, going around greeting everyone, giving big hugs - he truly melts my heart (and can make me madder than ever all at the same time=). Henderson ate the best of all of them (so they say) nothing like sweet potato casserole and mashed potatoes for a 6month old! Emma Claire discovered cranberry sauce - apparently she ate EVERYONE'S!!!! My parents are very brave - but I know they had fun!

I'm going to call after while and find out what the Elves have been up to overnight!!!!!

Our weekend ended with a sweet little birthday party for a dear friend of ours - she turns 1 today!!!! Happy Birthday! It was an intimate gathering of close friends and family and we were so honored to be a part of it - the children had a great time and the parents and grandparents had even more fun!

What a fun cupcake pinata - you pull strings instead of hitting it - the big kids had a blast getting all their loot in their goodie bags!

On Friday, the children's Dayschool had their Thanksgiving Feast and Emma Claire's class performed 4 or 5 songs. Emma Claire loved every minute of it - she is truly a performed - we could hear her over all the other children - she always tries REALLY hard - such a good, sweet child!

Wilson and Henderson enjoyed the time too - especially Wilson, who enjoyed running around the gym and climbing up to other peoples' tables to visit and see what they had to eat!

Things I love

My friend, Allyson sent me this, the rules are to list 5 things you love, link back to me and pass along to 5 friends.

I LOVE:

1. My family... my husband, my children, my parents and sisters, my in-laws, my neices and nephews - and I am so thankful that we are all a close family and get along so great!

2. To excercise - especially when I can do it when it's not taking me away from my family - I love to get up before everyone else and go for a quiet, dark run outside with my dog, Daisy (though lately at least one child has been waking up at 4:30 am - the time I usually try to go, so it hasn't been happening)

3. To eat.... especially this time of year, turkey and dressing and desserts galore!!!!!

4. My house decorated for Christmas and a cozy fire and all the ones I love close to me!

5. To sit back and watch my children play with each other and friends - to see sheer joy in their faces as they do what God intended for them to do at this young, tender age - laugh and have fun!

6. (because I can't stop there) Jesus - plain and simple, I love Jesus!

5 friends whose blogs I love:

1. Rachel

2. Abby

3. Andi

4. Darby

5. Becky

6. (because I still can't stop) Tara and Lindsey and Leigh -- there are so many more I would love to add, but for time's sake, I will stop there!

It's What We Do!

Our church has a fabulous library - on Wednesday nights we got to dinner at church, then choir and mission friends. BUT, before all that we hit the library - it started one day when I happended to arrive a little early to church and went by there just to have something to do. Now it's just what we do - there's no getting around it - unless I want 2 little children having fits in the parking lot - they LOVE it - they each get to pick out a movie (or 2) and 2 books. The nice ladies in the library are so excited to see us each week - they have a large and small stuffed Barney that Wilson adores (we have one at home, but it's just not the same at home). The wonderful ladies even let Emma Claire and Wilson scan their own books in - they think they are hot stuff! Yes, it means leaving the house at 4:00 instead of 4:30, but it's worth it to see their excitement - plus we have new books to read at night and new movies to entertain them during the week!

The ELVES did it again - this time with toilet paper on the foyer chandelier! "How did they get up there?" Emma Claire asked -

"they're MAGIC!"

This is what they did yesterday - took ALL the ornaments off the "friend" tree and replaced them with themselves!!!!! - those stinkin' elves sure do know how to make a mess!

Sorry for the poor picture quality - these are cell phone shots!

Christmas Open House and Those Stinkin' Elves

Welcome to our home! We are glad you could come! Do you smell the cinnamon, hear the Christmas carols, feel the heat from the crackling fire? Well, settle in and visit for awhile, let me know what you think!

Upstairs Den

Kitchen - do you see those little elves perched upon the island?

Emma Claire's Room

Emma Claire's room - her own glass ornament tree - she was so excited!

Dear Ole Frosty

Basement Den (to the right of this room are the older childrens' rooms)

Table top tree filled with memorable ornaments (that picture ornament you see, is Will as a child - looks JUST like Emma Claire)

Basement Den Fireplace - no mantle - anyone have any great (cheap) ideas?



Upstairs Den fireplace, again no mantle

Our "friend" tree - this is the Childrens' tree - to do whatever they want to with!

Upstairs den - Wilson has yet to pick up these ornaments off this table - I CAN'T BELIVE IT!!!!

Master Bedroom table and mirror

Dear old Santa in the kitchen, handed down from Will's mom

Server in the Living Room

Funkey little tree in Henderson's room

Living Room

Den - those balls again - they look tempting to me and I'm not a 2 year old boy - it's only a matter of time!!! =)

Dining Room - that picture over there - don't let it scare you - that's Will's Great Great Grandfather

Stockings hung by the bannister with care, in hopes that St. Nicolas soon will be there!!!

From the Foyer looking into the Living Room

"MY" Tree - you get a "pop" if you touch it - how many times have I said that???? (and I don't mean soda pop)

For the elves 1st night, they emptied out my tupperware cabinets, and propped themselves right in the middle of the mess - those stinky little elves!!! Emma Claire was soooo excited to see that they had acted CRAZY the night before!!!!! I even had 2 little helpers clean up the elves' mess! This elf thing sure is helping to get EC out of bed with no whining every morning!

The only way I could get Wilson to stand in front of the tree was if he got to hold a ball - oh no, what have I started?????

2 out of 3 of those pesky little trouble makers - just wait til you wee what they did LAST night!!!!

I hope you enjoyed your visit - please come again - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Elf

Three elves, very similar to the ones in this picture will be on our door step, sent straight from the North Pole when we get home today. Emma Claire is sooo excited! Yesterday, while she was napping, an elf brought some presents and put them under our tree (yes, I'm decorated for Christmas, more on that later). The elf told me that Santa himself was sending the 3 elves, (one for each child) that would be living at our house and watching and reporting back to Santa, today. I hope Wilson will understand the whole concept, b/c he is the one who really needs to know that someone is always watching him!!!! This elf, I've been told, does some crazy things at night when he returns from the North Pole. This will be a fun time -with lots of memories, I hope!

Now, why have I decorated for Christmas so early? Well, for one, there are just a little over 5 weeks left until Christmas. Secondly, I LOVE Christmas and all that comes with it. I love walking into my house in the afternoon or evening and lighting up my tree and garland and just sitting there looking at the twinkling lights and shiny ornaments. I love the excitement that it brings out in my children. I LOVE to enjoy this time, not being so stressed out by DOING. I have not decorated the outside of the house yet, but plan to begin that this weekend. All my Christmas shopping is done and now all there is to do is BE. (Well, and work 32 hours a week and clean a large house and do laundry and iron and cook and take care of 3 children, a dog and a husband) - I am also hosting Thanksgiving for my side of the family at my house this year, which will include 15 adults and 5 very young children, then I will celebrate Thanksgiving with Will's family the next day, then spend the next day out on the quad all day for the AU/AL game, then the next weekend is packed full of Nutcracker, SEC championship game (which I hope to be at) and a preschool choir program. So in a nutshell, I decorate when I can (which is NOW) and I enjoy it (immensely) for quite a while. I hope to do a Christmas Open House post soon to share with all of you out-of-towners! (picture is of Christmas 2007, hence no Henderson)

To add to this post, we had a great weekend, on a WARM Friday we celebrated my SIL's b'day at her parents' house and the cousins played outside in shorts and teeshirts and no shoes, jumping on the trampoline and playing on the swingset. We ate a fabulous dinner of pot roast, poppyseed chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, black eyed peas, and cupcakes (made by EC and I). Emma Claire wa surprised by a last minute invitation to spend the night at her cousins' house - she never turns down an invitation =) They stayed up til 10:30 and had a great time! Saturday it got VERY cold (wind chill of 40 degrees all day) - that's the SOUTH for ya! We did not brave the quad for the Miss St. game, but rather stayed home and decorated and cleaned. I even got to go for a run at 8:30 am (this is LATE for me). My dear friend, Ashley, and her 2 girls, Mary Alice and Sarah Davis came over to play around 5:00 along with Ellen, my SIL and her 4 children. The children had a BLAST and we moms had even more fun chatting and hanging out. We watched the first half of the ball game together, then they began leaving and I began cleaning up. Emma Claire and I got to bed around 9:30. Sunday we went to church, everyone napped while I cleaned, then we went to Will's parents house to visit and built a cozy fire, drank hot chocolate and played some more. My SIL came over (with her 4 children) and we ate leftovers from Friday night - it was truly a DREAMY weekend - everything I love - family, friends, food, football and Jesus!

6 month check ups!

This little love bug had his 6 month check up Monday - wow how time has flown by! He was great, though he had a little tooo much fun eating the crackly exam table paper - he LOVED It! One thing though - he's now off the charts in weight - below 0 that is - minus 5% to be exact. What is it with my boys? He is a great eater! Do I see growth hormone in our future - hopefully not, but I sure don't want my 2 boys to be 5 feet tall and 100 pounds when they are full-grown. Here are his stats:

Weight: 13# 9 oz (Wilson was 13# 8 oz at this point) {-5%}

Height: 25 1/2 " {20%} YEA!!!!!

Head: 17 1/8" {40%} YEA!!! YEA!!!!

So he does look a little better than Wilson in the height and head areas, but the weight, well what more can I do? He EATS great! Thankfully our Dr. just laughed and said it must be genetics - no more Drs. in B'ham or surgery or tests at this point- thank you God! He's healthy, vibrant and happy - sitting up like a champ and wanting to crawl SO bad! I'm in for it when he does begin getting around! Thanks be to God for healthy, active children.

Emma Claire and I had our dental appointments yesterday. You know how you are supposed to go every 6 months to the dentist? Well, due to having to cancel my last appointment b/c I had double booked it with Wilson's GI appointment (wasn't that sacrificial of me?) it had been 2 YEARS since I had been to the dentist -- and the ironic thing is, my dentist is my brother-in-law. Yes, I see the guy every couple of days, our children are together nearly EVERY day, and it's been 2 years! Well, thankfully we both checked out VERY good - no cavity bugs here! Emma Claire was a champ - she even got to control the "sucking duck" which sucked all the water out of my mouth - problem was, she had a little too much fun and I felt like my mouth was the desert when we got through. FUN TIMES!!!!